The animals are all real y’know.

Well, they’re real to me. They all have names, personalities and stories.

Take Freddie the Fox for instance. He can be as excitable as a Labrador puppy — so don’t ever feed him sugar! — and he loves making new friends.

I first met him years ago, not long after I moved into my flat. I came home one evening and there he was, sitting in the road, his wee eyes glowing in the dark. But not in a creepy way, he was just curious. He hung around to watch me park (don’t you just love parallel parking with an audience, by the way?) and to say hello.

Benji the Bullfinch on the other hand, is quite a new friend. We’re still getting to know each other. It’s a slow process since we’re both a bit shy, but we share a love of cake, which explains his wee round tummy. Yeah, ok, that’s why my tummy is round too!

He’s a big fan of my chocolate brownies and next time he comes around we’ll see what he thinks of my apple cake.

When I was a kid my ambition (briefly) was to own a pet shop so I could play with the animals. And I was sure I’d have a couple of pet guinea pigs, called Josephine and Daphne. Thankfully I didn’t pursue the pet shop thing since I’m now allergic to animal hair. Awkward.

These days, as I can’t have pets, I draw animals instead. I draw other things too, but animals are my favourites.

I’m a branding designer by trade and I started creating cards because I wanted to send Christmas cards to my clients. I wanted something a bit different from the usual stuff you find in the shops so designing my own was the obvious solution.

Things have grown from there and now there are a whole gang of cute critters available as cards, prints, decorations and gifts.

We’re so used to getting birthday greetings or messages via email or text but nothing quite tops the excitement of an actual real-life card popping through your letter box!

Sending a card to a friend or loved one is a lovely way to show you care and make them smile. So Fox + Finch cards and gifts are all designed to spread the smiles —for birthdays, Christmas, to say congratulations, or just because!

You can find Freddie, Benji and all the gang in our Etsy shop, and at various craft fairs and events around Aberdeenshire. Don’t be shy if you see us out and about, come and say hello – Freddie always has room for new friends.